


Love Isn't Easy

by goth_on_ham



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, Future Fic, Light BDSM, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Relationship Problems, Spanking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2017-05-14
Packaged: 2018-10-31 18:27:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10904961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goth_on_ham/pseuds/goth_on_ham
Summary: Lucius tends to fall for the wrong guy. Even though Ed is 'reformed', that doesn't mean he's easy to live with. But Lucius loves him, so they'll try to work things out.





	Love Isn't Easy

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write some more Foxma. I might continue this, but I might leave it as a one-shot. We'll see!

“Ed, are you listening to me?” Lucius asked, his voice soft, soothing, and Ed nestled his face against the crook of the other man’s neck as he spoke. “Ed, I’m serious. Don’t go to sleep on me.”

“I haven’t slept for _days._ ” Ed mumbled, his usual manic energy replaced with nothing else but the desire for rest, and Lucius sighed in defeat. He couldn’t get in the way of him sleeping. Ed voluntarily getting some shut-eye was far too rare of an event for that.

“Fine, but when you wake up, we need to talk.”

—

Lucius had meant what he’d said, but when Ed woke up, he had other ideas. Ed didn’t want to talk, he wanted to use his mouth for other things, and Lucius was only human. To his shame, he hadn’t been able to refuse him.

It had been so long since he’d been with someone. 

After Thomas had died, he hadn’t wanted anyone else. It was ridiculous. They’d never been more than friends, yet Lucius missed him like a lost lover. He had been his dearest friend and they had spent many days together, working side by side, talking, laughing, but Lucius still regretted all that they hadn’t done. 

They could never have become more, not with Martha in the picture. Lucius didn’t regret _that_. She was wonderful, and she made Thomas happy, but a part of Lucius still secretly wished that he had been there first. If only to know if Thomas could have ever loved him.

Such thoughts made him feel selfish and he didn’t tell them to anyone. 

It seemed like he had a habit of falling for the wrong men. Ed might not be married, but his situation was far more complicated. 

He had been ‘reformed’ for the second time and was working as a P.I., but both men knew his reformation was nothing more than an act that Ed had adopted to win his freedom. Arkham was stifling for him, he got bored with it quickly, so he had played their game and gotten a shiny new ‘Sane’ certificate.

“No, Ed. No.” He put his hand on Ed’s chest, and the palm ran over the smooth flat surface and then curled around one of his shoulders, squeezing lightly. “I’m serious. We need to talk.”

“No, we don’t.” Ed tried to push forwards, to kiss him again, but Lucius held firm. Ed’s eyes grew wide and they began to shine brightly. Lucius barely kept in a groan. Those goddamn puppy dog eyes. He swore that Ed did it on purpose.  
  
“Why did you stop taking your medication?”

“I already told you why.”

‘It makes me less brilliant.’ That had been what Ed had said, with a grin that was _far_ too giddy for Lucius’ liking.

“You did, but I want you to tell me again.”

Ed held his gaze for a moment, but then his eyes dropped slightly, and he sat back against the headboard. He was dangerously close to becoming unresponsive, something Ed tended to do when Lucius persisted in asking questions that he didn’t want to answer. 

He could get like that for days. It was like a sulk, but worse. Lucius always felt uneasy when Ed became like that. It would be one thing if it was a genuine coping method, but Lucius held the suspicion that it was a way for Ed to punish him. Ed found nothing more torturous than not knowing an answer, so what better way was there to show his displeasure than refusing to answer someone else?

His silences seemed to scream, ‘Look at how upset you’ve made me! Don’t you feel terrible now? This is your fault!’ Lucius hated them.

“Ed?”

No response.

“Edward.”

Lucius almost apologised, but then he didn’t. 

He had apologised last time. He had apologised the time before that. Both times, Ed had been the one to overreact, to be unreasonable, yet he was always the one apologising. 

Lucius got up off the bed and began to get dressed. He heard the mattress creak as Ed shifted on it, but he forced himself not to look back. He knew that he’d fold it he looked back.

He put on his winter coat because it was cold out and once he was fully dressed, he turned around to face Ed. “I’ll be back late tonight. Call me if you change your mind about talking.”

Ed rolled over onto his side, making a show of ignoring him, and Lucius had to restrain himself from moving back to the bed. He still had the urge to hold him. 

“See you later then.”

—

Lucius didn’t have work that day, so he went to a bar. He didn’t think drinking was a good way to solve or to ignore your problems, but he liked the atmosphere of this particular bar. He didn’t go to drink, he went to sit somewhere calm, somewhere soothing. Somewhere that he could forget about Ed, for just a little while.

He didn’t get drunk, he ordered a soft drink and something to eat. After he was finished, he went for a walk in the park. 

When it started to get dark out, he started to feel guilty. 

He began to think about Ed again. He wondered if leaving had been a mistake. 

He couldn’t stand the thought of Ed being miserable alone in the apartment, so he went back.

However, when Lucius got home, Ed wasn’t there. 

That wasn’t strange in itself, Ed had his own place, but Lucius had been expecting him to be there when he got back. It was a Saturday and Ed usually spent the night on Saturdays. 

He tried calling him, but of course he didn’t pick up.

“Damn it.” 

His feelings shifted from guilty to irritated. 

He felt foolish for worrying so much. He doubted that Ed was at his own apartment, worrying about hurting _his_ feelings.

All the same, he supposed that he should go to Ed’s apartment and see if he was okay. He could try a different approach about the medication. He could explain to him his worries and say that of course, it was Ed’s decision, but he cared for him, and he worried about him.

He knew that was what he should do, it had been what he’d done every time before this when their relationship hit a rough patch. But it was exhausting.

Lucius stared at Ed’s name on the bright screen of his phone until a minute passed and it went to sleep. 

He put it in his pocket and went to the fridge. Dinner for one it was. 

Ed could come to _him_ this time.

—

On Monday, Lucius came home to Ed sitting on his couch and reading one of his books. Part of him was relieved, another day and he was sure he would have ended up giving in and going to Ed’s apartment to check up on him. 

He plucked the book from Ed’s hands and placed it on the coffee table. Ed smiled up at him and Lucius frowned back. He was happy to see him, and to see that he looked well, but that didn’t change the fact that he was annoyed with him.

“I couldn’t stay away from you for too long, Foxy. Forgive me?”

“We’ll see.” Lucius replied, his arms folded across his chest. “I want an apology.”

“I’m sorry.” Ed said obediently, without thinking about it.

“And I want you to start taking your medication again.”

“Already done.”

“Really?” Lucius was skeptical. Ed had lied to him before. 

“Yup. I only really stopped to see what would happen. Turns out, nothing exciting.”

Lucius ran a hand over his face. He didn’t know why he was surprised.

“Then why did you act like that when I asked you about it?” Lucius asked, although he knew that he wouldn’t like the answer.

Ed paused, almost as if he also knew that Lucius wouldn’t like what he had to say. He shrugged.

“Ed…” Lucius warned, and Ed smiled again. His eyes were far too bright and full of mischief for him to seem truly apologetic for the stress he had caused. “I’m serious. Tell me.”

“I guess going cold turkey on my meds affected my mood a bit.” He admitted, waving his hand dismissively. He stood up and tried to put his arms around Lucius, but instead Lucius held his wrists and moved Ed’s hands away from him.

“I missed you.” Ed told him, and he seemed to hope that that would be enough to get Lucius to forgive him.

“You can’t do that.” He said, forcing himself to stay stern, to stay serious, and Ed seemed surprised that he was still being lectured, even though he really should have expected it. “If you do that again, _especially_ if it’s just to satisfy your curiosity, we’re through.”

Hurt flashed across Ed’s features, but Lucius didn’t soften. He wanted to, but he didn’t. If he gave in now, he knew this would just happen over and over again. Maybe not with the pills, but with other things. If they had any chance of their relationship working, some things had to change. 

“Are we clear?” He asked, and Ed nodded. 

“Come here then.” He released Ed’s wrists and reached up for the other man, his hands rested on the back of his head, and he pulled him down for a kiss. 

—

Lucius heard Ed gasp as his hand smacked against his ass. His back was coated in a thin sheen of sweat and he tried to push back against Lucius, to get more than just a spanking from him, to coax him into fucking him, but Lucius didn’t give him that yet. 

He swatted him again, and Ed moaned. 

“Are you really sorry?” He asked, his palm kneading the area it had just struck, making Ed keen with his face pressed against the mattress. “Or are you just horny?”

“I’m sorry. Ow!” Ed didn’t move his ass away from Lucius’ hands, even if it was stinging, because he wanted it. Because despite how he whined that it was humiliating to be smacked for his misbehaviour like some sort of brat, he was smart enough to know that it was the least that he deserved. “Ow… That hurts.”

“You’re lucky I’m not using a paddle on you.” 

Ed whined in response, but it was a desperate sort of a whine. It seemed to say ‘more’ rather than ‘stop’. If Ed had told him to stop, he would have. 

“Maybe I should get one. It might come in handy.” Lucius smacked him again and Ed’s hands pulled at his bonds. He wanted to touch himself, but that would have to wait. “What do you think?”

“What kind would it be?” Ed panted, moving back against Lucius’ hands as they ran over the tender skin. Then his breath hitched sharply as a dollop of cold lubricant was smeared over his hole. 

“Maybe a leather one, or one made of wood. We could pick it out together.” Lucius replied, enjoying how Ed’s body alternated between tensing and relaxing at his touch. They had played with spanking a bit before this, and Ed seemed to like it more than he would ever admit to outside of the bedroom. Lust temporarily numbed his sense of pride, and Lucius wasn’t complaining. “Or are you going to be good?”

“A paddle might be fun.” Ed admitted, and Lucius chuckled.

Despite the spanking before it, the sex that followed was affectionate, gentle. Lucius undid the padded cuffs on Ed’s wrists so that he could touch himself. It started with Ed on his stomach, but by the end, Ed was facing him with his arms wrapped around the other man’s shoulders. He would pull him down from time to time, demanding kisses. 

Lucius obliged him every time, because as difficult as Ed could be, as troubled as he was, he loved him. 


End file.
